Friday, March 28, 2014

2nd San Jose Chick-fil-A Grand Opening on April 3rd

The first Chick-fil-A in Silicon Valley opened at the @First shopping center in North San Jose a couple years ago. On opening weekend, it had one of the longest lines I have ever seen for any restaurant. Chick-fil-A is hoping for a repeat of that success with their second San Jose restaurant at 2280 Monterey Road near The Plant. As is tradition, they will be giving away a free year supply of Chick-fil-A to the first 100 people in line. Bring a tent if you plan to be one of those people! (Side-note: entertainment, music, and food will be provided for campers.)

Chick-fil-A is also partnering with Sacred Hearts Community Service to host a food drive on April 2nd. For every five food items brought for the food pantry, guests will receive a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A entree. More info below in the press release.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (April 3, 2014) – San
Jose’s newest stand-alone Chick-fil-A® restaurant at 2280 Monterey
Road will open April 3, bringing nearly 70 new jobs and the chance for 100
adults to win free Chick-fil-A meals for a year as the chain marks the 50th
anniversary of its signature Chick-fil-A sandwich.

Chick-fil-A’s “First 100” event, which began as a way to celebrate the
first stand-alone Chick-fil-A in Arizona in 2003, immediately became the
cornerstone of every Chick-fil-A grand opening when the first person arrived
more than 18 hours the day before, wondering where to get in line. Others soon
followed and by the time the restaurant opened for business the next day, more
than 100 were waiting.

Humbled and surprised by the dedication of its
fans, Chick-fil-A quickly implemented the “First 100” at every grand opening
and in the past 10 years has given away almost $21 million in free food at more
than 750 grand openings.

The new San Jose restaurant will be the scene of
the latest Chick-fil-A grand opening celebration. The first 100 adults, ages 18 and older with identification, in
line when the doors open about 6 a.m. on Thursday, April 3, each will win a
one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A® Meals (52 meals consisting of a Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich,
medium Waffle Potato Fries™ and a medium drink) – a total of more than $30,000
in free food. The
line officially opens at 6 a.m., Wednesday, April 2, with the free meal cards
being awarded Thursday, April 3, around 6 a.m. The restaurant will open for
business immediately thereafter. If there are more than 100 people by 6 a.m. on
Wednesday, April 2, all 100 spots will be determined by a drawing held that
morning with those selected needing to camp out to secure their spot. For
complete rules, see Chick-fil-A First 100
Promotion.

In conjunction with the First 100 celebration, the
new San Jose Chick-fil-A is partnering with Sacred
Heart Community Serviceto
host a food drive at the new restaurant between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., Wednesday,
April 2. Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator Shannon Balderas will award a coupon for a
free Chick-fil-A entrée for every five non-perishable food items donated. Sacred
Heart provides essential services, empowers people to improve their lives,
advocates for justice and inspires volunteers to love, serve and share.

The
new restaurant comes 30 years after Chick-fil-A
first opened in California in a Cerritos mall in 1984. After 20 years of operating
in several Southern California mall locations, Chick-fil-A opened its first two
stand-alone restaurants 10 years ago in Chino Hills and Irvine in early 2004.
The new restaurant on Monterey Road will be the second Chick-fil-A restaurant
in San Jose, joining the first Bay Area stand-alone Chick-fil-A which opened on
Headquarters Drive in 2012. The two are among 68 restaurants operating in
California. The newest San Jose Chick-fil-A is the first of nine restaurants
projected to open in California this year bringing nearly 600 new jobs to the state and is
among 88 new locations the chain is opening nationwide this year, creating more
than 6,700 new jobs overall. Chick-fil-A opened more restaurants than ever
before in 2013 with 114 new locations added across the country.

With a degree in kinesiology, Balderas graduated
from the University of Texas and then pursued her Masters in social work at the
University of Houston. After a career as a Houston Police Department lieutenant
and District leader of security at Target, Balderas decided to pursue the dream
of becoming a Chick-fil-A operator almost four years ago. A Santa Clara County
resident, Balderas, her husband Rogelio and their family look forward to
serving their community.

“Our focus
on freshly prepared food and personal customer service is as central to our new
restaurant as it was the day Truett opened his first Chick-fil-A location,”
said Balderas. “That commitment continues for me and my team members at our new
San Jose location where we can’t wait to continue welcoming and serving our
guests in the community.”

The new restaurant seats 111 and has warm colors
and wood accents. It offers the convenience of free Wi-Fi and features the
chain’s latest interior and kitchen design. Additionally, customers
will find that the chain’s dual drive-thru ordering point design helps to
expand its award-winning drive-thru service.
With a majority of
customers at Chick-fil-A stand-alone restaurants choosing drive-thru, the
ability for two drivers to simultaneously order should mean quicker service.
Families can also enjoy the interactive play area. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday
from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving a full breakfast menu until 10:30 a.m.

It was 50 years ago that Truett Cathy first began
serving his boneless breast-of-chicken sandwich, pressured cooked and served on
a buttered bun with two crucial pickles, at the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Ga.
It was the signature menu item when the first

Chick-fil-A restaurant opened in 1967 and though
many other selections have been added over the past five decades, it remains
the centerpiece of the menu as the chain has grown to more than 1,803
restaurants in 39 states and Washington D.C.

Chick-fil-A continues to win industry accolades
including Men’s Health “Eat This, Not That” 2013 edition which again gave the
chain high marks (A-) and named it one of the top two restaurants providing
healthier menu options.

About Chick-fil-A, Inc. Atlanta-based
Chick-fil-A, Inc. is a family owned and privately held restaurant company
dedicated to serving the communities in which its restaurants operate. Credited
with inventing the chicken sandwich, Chick-fil-A serves nutritious, freshly
prepared food in 1,803 restaurants in 39 states and Washington, D.C.

Founded by S. Truett Cathy in 1967, Chick-fil-A
produced sales of $5 billion in 2013. Chick-fil-A was recognized in 2013 as one
of America’s “Most Inspiring Companies” by Forbes Magazine and “Best Places to
Work” by Glassdoor™, among other honors. More information
on Chick-fil-A is available on the chain’s website, located at www.chick-fil-a.com.

I eat there so hard working employees can continue to have jobs. The food is good - I don't care what the owner believes - its not my place to discriminate. It's not like the chicken makes you hate gay people. Food is food is food and money is crap.

It's not just food. A Chick-fil-A executive living in Georgia uses the profits he receives from the company to influence California politics. I don't think providing jobs means a community has to accept the owners political causes.

It's disappointing to see this blog promoting a business that has few ties to the community. Were you paid to promote this business? This is a slap in the face to the gay community and local businesses. Please consider removing this post.

No I was not paid to promote them. A lot of San Joseans like Chick-fil-A. For better or worse, the most popular post ever on this site was the launch of the first Chick-fil-A in San Jose. I have to admit that I really do like their chicken sandwiches, and by the way I am very much pro gay in my political views. If the owner of the chain wants to throw his money down the toilet to support campaigns that will clearly fail, that is his decision.

Everything seems to be tied, but I don't know the numbers specifically, some amount of money spent on the chicken sandwiches goes as profits to the founder. Of that amount, and clearly if he makes more money he will spend more on this. But of the amount spent, he gives some to FRC, which did spend $25k to prevent Congress from condemning Uguda on its "kill the gays" bill. I wouldn't be surprised if he donates money to churches that send missionaries to Uganda to spread their message of hate.

Either way while I don't think we shouldn't mention it, I find it bad that you mention nothing of the controversy, this is a company that doesn't seem to have the same values as most of San Jose, and I think readers would want to know about the controversy.

The comments on your other three Chick-fil-A posts are largely similar to the ones on this post. The popularity of the other posts is probably due to the insensitivity of promoting a business linked to anti-gay causes, rather than excitement over the business. You may be pro-gay, but no mention of the controversy in four posts is an implicit endorsement of executive's anti-gay agenda. How about a title like "Chick-fil-A Opens 2nd San Jose Location, Despite Political Controversy?" It acknowledges both the Chick-fil-A fans and the portion of the community that doesn't want businesses linked to anti-gay groups in San Jose.

It is not an implicit endorsement of an anti-gay agenda... in fact a post here is not even an endorsement of the restaurant itself. A second Chick-fil-A opened in San Jose, get over it. Side-note I have a family member that is gay and loves eating there and she's fully aware of the controversy.

No good deed goes unpunished Josh. That's all I can say. I'm gay and I love their food. I know gay people that work there. The CEO has a personal opinion that's different to mine. So be it! Aren't we all glad that we live in a country where it's OK to have different opinions?

Quit trying to make this about gay people. As a gay person, I can say I don't care what the owner believes. His beliefs have no effect on my personal life. I'll continue to eat wherever I please. Damn bleeding hearts.

Instead of doing this food drive at Chick-fil-A, readers should consider directly donating food, or even better money to the Second Harvest Food Bank http://www.shfb.org/, Second Harvest not only directly gives food to people in need, it works with shelters and kitchens for the poor to feed the poor in Silicon Valley.

There is no need that readers should feel like they need to mix helping people with hurting gay people here and abroad.

it seems to me that a lot of people don't remember that California Voted Yes on 8 . So it's not a surprise that people support Chick fil A...The Homosexual lifestyle has always been a shameful thing and still is.

Wow, saying that today is analagous to saying segregation was okay 60 years ago. 8 would never pass today and there was a reason why it was striked down as unconstitutional. At some point in your life you will likely regret making that comment.

There is no point at looking at the past as we have made a series of decisions that have turned out to be huge mistakes in the past as a society. Prop 8 passing the first time will go down as one of those moments not to be proud of.

I totally agree with their stand on gay marriage, but that aside, they have the best sandwiches in existence. The wacko comments from people who disagree with the owner's cultural position are missing a good eating experience.